View From The Left Coast

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish

Fri, 30 May 2008 05:25:28 -0800

A couple of years ago a friend who is an artist and writer came out with a book about Pacific Lumber and what Maxxam had done to Humboldt County. The book was well written and sold briskly, but it occurred to me that a person who had her talent as an artist, the power to bring something positive and uplifting to all people, would be better off putting that creative ability to work than writing something political. Partly it’s supply and demand: there are a lot more Bill O’Reillys than Alan Sanborns. Partly it was because even I can write political things, and have no artistic ability, so making art seems to have more value.

Circling the Drain

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:43:12 -0800

I’ve long suspected that the only way anything in American politics is going to change, REALLY change, is when a whole lot of people start getting hungry. Not when they have to give up their 4 X 4’s, big screen TV’s, botox injections or Viagra prescriptions, but when a lot of them start missing meals. And it's starting to look like famine will get here a lot sooner than those Al Qaida guys George says are going to follow our troops home.

Comparitive Reality 101

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:35:23 -0800

I started out Saturday morning trying to find some information about a new machine I had gotten, and ended up learning that the world I live in is being depopulated. . .voluntarily.

Our Terminal Classic period

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:41:03 -0800

In reading about ritual sacrifices made by the Maya and Aztecs in Latin America in pre-columbian days, I was struck by the thought that these deaths made to ensure the gods sent good hunting, bountiful harvests and victory in battle were really more about political theater than placating bloodthirsty deities. In murdering virgins or children, those who actually put them to death became the demons they were ostensibly seeking to keep at bay. We now know, of course, that all those deaths really had nothing to do with whether the rains came on time, the birds and deer were more plentiful, or the foes easier to vanquish.

Don’t we?

Running with the Dogs

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 07:35:58 -0800

Telemarketing (home invasion by telephone) is a hot-button issue with me. I pay for the phone to allow me to connect to my friends and family and people with whom I choose to do business. It’s mine. The idea that somebody out there thinks they can invade my life anytime they want (usually when I’m eating dinner) to try to separate me from my money, using an instrument I paid for, is outrageous.

Forget the trains

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:36:41 -0800

The struggle over the train tracks in Humboldt County really is over. I drive past the old engines in Eureka almost every day, and it’s pretty clear that, like everything else made of metal that’s left out in the rain for ten years, they’re past saving. The same is true of the trestles, the track, and any other rolling stock that doesn’t have trees growing through them. Few people would love to have trains running here more than me, but it’s pretty obvious they’re toast.

The Case for Voting Your Conscience

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:04:37 -0800

I’m a little puzzled as to why people would allow the press or the political pro’s to dictate who they vote for. Amazingly, most Democrats seem reconciled to the fact that they have a choice between Clinton and Obama. The argument is that if you vote for somebody who isn’t a front runner, because they were able to raise $500 million from corporations like Exxon and Pfizer, you’re wasting your vote.

How Bad Is It?

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:21:56 -0800

An email from the Dennis Kucinich campaign today mentioned an interesting thing: there are some who think the New Hampshire upset for Hillary was something less than an expression of the will of the voters.

One Man's Beef is Another Man's Pork

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:18:41 -0800

There’s a long tradition in Washington of pork barrel politics: when one member votes for another’s federal dollar giveaway, he gets to call in one of his own. When you read the “newsletters” of our politicians, they’re filled with self-congratulation for the pork that they’ve “brought home.” In a little place like Humboldt County, a couple of million is considered a lot of money. In Washington, it is, as Everett Dirkson used to say: “A million here, a million there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”

Populists Win, People Happy, Film at 11

Sat, 05 Jan 2008 10:40:05 -0800

"But the dictionary definition of populist is: 'A member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people; a person who holds or who is concerned with the views of ordinary people.'

--R. Limbaugh

The Times-Standard Editorial this morning trumpeted “Populism is back in America”.The editorial talked about how the Iowa caucuses showed how “populist” candidates had done so well. Sen. Barack Obama, who so far has collected $80 million in his race for the presidency, and Rev. Mike Huckbee are considered populists.
Actually Obama and Huckabee won because they had money and/or organization. Huckabee won because there are a lot of Christians in Iowa, and the Christian right is VERY well organized and very rich. And he’s their guy.

Obama won because he has spent even more money than Hillary: $44 million to her paltry $40 million. The $64 million question is: where did that money come from? If you know who paid it, you know who owns him. And I know it wasn’t me or other people putting in $25 here and $25 there. Opensecrets.org points out that 47,643 people donated more than $200 to Obama. By contrast, Dennis Kucinich has raised a little over $1 million, he has 908 $200 plus donors, and 69% of his donors gave less than $200.

The Lesser of Two Weevils is Still a Weevil

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 20:11:05 -0800

Seven years ago, when Dick Cheney seized power, I had a funny feeling that something was wrong. Bill Clinton, with his support of NAFTA, lies about Monica and amnesty to Mafia donors, didn’t do much for me, but like most Americans, I was becoming accustomed to crooks in power. But I thought there were still honest reporters, honest members of Congress, and honest judges to see that the Constitution protected us.

I was wrong.

Who Would JesusTorture?

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 19:20:25 -0800

In an apparent attempt to prove they can keep up with the ER, the TS ran a column by Morton Kondracke that was right up there with O’Reilly at his raving best. The headline calls Democrats Bush haters, and does the usual equating freedom of speech with treason. He goes on to note that Bin Laden is still at large, and worries that the Democrats’ irrational doubting of Bush means planes are aimed at skyscrapers in Keokuk and Long Beach at this moment.

And this guy is the editor of Roll Call, the newspaper of Capital Hill. No wonder Congress is so screwed up.

Words of the Profits

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 08:06:18 -0800

The article in the Times-Standard, accompanied by a nice “grip and grin” photo, credited the owners of the Bear River Casino in Loleta with a $17,000 donation to the Salvation Army. But the thanks really should go to the locals who left many times that with the casino.

If You're in a Hole, You Need a Ladder, Not a Shovel

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:01:26 -0800

One would think that members of Congress who are Democrats would support peace, human rights, and the Consititution. But no.

Ho Ho Hurl

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:11:39 -0800

It was damage control time at Baywood these past two weeks after some 900 people were exposed to Norwalk virus there, over five days and a passel of gatherings of movers and shakers in HumCo. While the TS was making nice, it did seem odd to hear Baywood management trying to blame the customers for bringing this dread disease to them. As though that could happen for five days and a dozen or so banquets.